"Met Before"

Young Turks / Columbia

Artists:

As the three sets of hands on the cover of their 2008 debut album Does You Inspire You suggested, Brooklyn synth-pop outfit Chairlift started out as a trio. They're down to a duo now-- Aaron Pfenning departed the band and is now making silky disco as Rewards-- but one listen to "Met Before", a single from Chairlift's forthcoming album Something, suggests that the downsizing didn't hurt the band. In his review of Does You Inspire You, Pitchfork contributor Eric Harvey referred to the album's low points as "distant and thin", but refreshingly, neither word applies to "Met Before"'s rollicking bombast. As is Chairlift's M.O., the song recalls the much-plundered musical glories of the 1980's; this time, though, they're drawing from UK new wave's more sweeping, pronounced moments (just as the Horrors did earlier this year on the overlooked Skying). At a time when there's just so many bands doing "small", it's an enjoyable treat to hear an act like Chairlift go for "big"-- like, really big-- and succeed on every level.